Ahead of Saturday's Champions League final in Munich, GOAL picks out the top performers in each position during the 2024-25 campaign
It's been a vintage year for forwards in Europe. How do we know that? Well, for starters, not one of Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane has made the GOAL Team of the Season!
After the conclusion of league play across the continent's major championships, our panel of editors and writers sat down to pick their top 50 players of the 2024-25 campaign, based on individual statistics, team trophies and overall influence.
Using those results, we've put together an all-star selection by picking the highest-ranking player in each position, which meant several superstars missed out simply by virtue of the fact that they were competing with another top talent for the same spot in our 4-3-3 formation.
So, who got the nod ahead of Salah on the right wing? And who beat Kane and Mbappe to the No.9 role? GOAL reveals all below…
Getty ImagesGK: Gigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
Gigi Donnarumma has had his ups and downs at Paris Saint-Germain. The Italian was even copping plenty of criticism during the first half of the season, and there's even talk that Luis Enrique will sanction Donnarumma's sale this summer.
However, the fact of the matter is that PSG simply wouldn't have reached Saturday's Champions League final without their giant goalkeeper, who has recaptured his magnificent Euro 2020 form in the knockout stages, turning in one heroic display after another.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesRB: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
It's a little strange that nobody is really talking up Achraf Hakim's prospects of winning the Ballon d'Or, given how integral he's been to PSG's sensational season. No defender across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues has won possession more times (273) than the Morocco international, while he also ranks first among his peers for direct goal involvements (20).
Put quite simply, Hakimi, who scored against both Arsenal and Aston Villa in the knockout stages of the Champions League, is one of the most complete footballers in the game today.
Getty Images SportCB: Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
Arsenal's Champions League hopes were hit hard by the loss of Gabriel Magalhaes to injury. The Gunners managed to beat a ragged Real Madrid without their talismanic centre-back, but he was sorely missed in the semi-final clash with PSG.
This season, Gabriel once again proved himself a formidable opponent in the air, at both ends of the field (he scored five times in total), while his partnership with William Saliba is arguably the best in world football, so it's no coincidence that Mikel Arteta's men started to struggle at set-pieces immediately after the Brazilian was sidelined with a hamstring problem.
Getty Images SportCB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
The rock upon which Liverpool's record-equalling 20th English title triumph was founded, Virgil van Dijk was a near-ever-present for Arne Slot's side and rarely put a foot wrong.
The giant Dutchman once again reigned supreme in the air, proved almost impossible to get around and his raking passes out to the flanks from deep inside his own half played a big role in the Reds' success. Despite being 33, Van Dijk, who also scored five times in all competitions, was rightly rewarded with a new contract after re-establishing himself as the most dominant centre-back in world football.